This series is all about Libsyn’s podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with Pilar from 21st Century Work Life
When did you start podcasting and why?
I actually created my first podcast in 2011, but I didn’t really know what I was doing.
I recorded four episodes of my A to Z of Spanish Culture, with sound effects and everything. A few months later, I recorded another couple of episodes for another podcast, this time one about management in organizations.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing or what I wanted to achieve with these podcasts, so I stopped.
Then last summer, 2014, I recorded the audio version of one of my books. “How on earth am I going to publicise this?” Ah, audiobook listeners might also listen to podcasts”, I thought to myself, without really having any data to prove it.
And so I launched my first proper podcast, Spain Uncovered, in August 2014.
At the beginning, the podcast was made up only of interviews and I was getting quite good feedback, so I thought, “Hm, maybe I should look into creating a different kind of podcast, about something I’m really passionate about…”
In November 2014, I launched the 21st Century Work Life podcast.
I wanted it to be the kind of podcast I enjoy listening to myself: part informative, part entertainment, finding out about how people are running their businesses, what they’re doing at work… Specifically I wanted to look at how the world of work is changing, and more importantly, how, as we look at how technology can help us work remotely, we are having to change how we think about work.
This bit is the most important to me and is the main reason why I host the 21st Century Work Life podcast.
What’s the show about?
I see 21st Century Work Life as having two streams: every other week I interview someone about their professional life or their company.
If they’re based in London, I pick up my portable mic and go to their offices, or homes and talk to them there.
I’ve had a range of guests on the show so far, someone from Udemy talking about how corporate learning is changing, from Yammer talking about how employees are now coming together online, and also someone running a website, Theatrefolk, dedicated to helping drama teachers throughout the world, or Jurgen Appelo, who’s the author of Management 3.0 and Mike Russell who, of course, talks about New Media.
That’s the bit where I look at how the world of work is changing.
Then, every other week, I have virtual coffee with Lisette Sutherland, who hosts the Collaboration Superpowers podcast, and we talk more specifically about working in virtual teams and being a remote worker.
We talk about practical things like collaboration tools we use, how to run retrospectives, how to recruit for a virtual team and also about more fluffly things, like how you build trust in your team or why values are important.
I love having another person with me on the podcast – and it’s interesting how our friendship has developed through having these conversations.
Every episode also has a talking head where I expand on the episode’s theme and update listeners about what I’m up to.
I enjoy podcasts which have talking heads, which are co-hosted and where you hear different people’s points of view – so I created a show that had all of these elements in it.
What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.
I record the interviews and Virtual Coffees with Lisette over Skype, using Call Recorder.
Sometimes the person being interviewed is on a phone line.
I use a Blue Nessie for these conversations and also for my talking heads.
For the in situ interviews, I use the Roland–05.
I clean up the conversations in Audacity, which I find much more user friendly for this than Garageband, but I then put the podcast together in Garageband, where it’s easier to move bits about – that’s where I put together the podcast intro, talking head, intro to the second part of the show and the outro.
I host the podcast on Libsyn, of course! And use the Blubrry plugin for both sites, with WordPress.
How have you promoted your podcast?
I mainly promote the podcast through Twitter.
A lot of my connections on that platform are interested in leadership, virtual teams and the future of work, so I know that there are many potential listeners there.
The same on LinkedIn, many of my connections are in the world of training and HR, so a lot of what we cover is of interest to them.
I’ve also included the podcast image on my business card and I find that word of mouth is the best way of building an audience.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
What I actually wish I’d known earlier, even BEFORE I started, is how much fun hosting a podcast was going to be and how great it is for meeting new people and having cracking conversations.
Through interviewing people for the Spain Uncovered podcast I met people I would otherwise have never come across, and I’ve met some of those people in person too as a result.
Both podcasts have also given me the chance to reconnect and have a proper catchup with people I hadn’t seen in a while.
I’m still at the stage where I do everything myself, but I’m loving every minute of it.
I justify every second spent on the podcast as a business decision, as it’s the only regular form of content marketing I do and I’m having some absolutely fascinating conversations with people I would otherwise never meet.
On the one hand, I wish I’d started earlier – on the other hand, everything seems to be in place now to be able to host a podcast and reach out to listeners: the equipment is affordable and can sit on a shelf, hosting is very affordable, the information on best practice is easy to find through blogs and other articles and social media means it’s free to spread the word.
And needless to say, The Feed provides a constant source of information and inspiration! Thanks!
Is that the most fantastic podcast? Libsyn has a lot of virtual teams – this podcast would serve us well! If you work remotely, are looking to build your virtual team or want to learn all about work and life in the 21st century, subscribe!
Pilar has been working on a course on leading virtual teams, set to launch on September 2015, keep a look out on her website for information!
You can also connect with Pilar via twitter.
Have you been itching to explore aspects of work or life? Are you wanting to have conversations that are not being had? Then, it’s time to start to podcast! We’d love to help you host your media!
